ESCONDIDO  The city of Escondido is suing the owners of a partially built apartment complex at the corner of Third Avenue and Escondido Boulevard, hoping to force a clean up of the property that has sat abandoned and filled with trash for more than five years.

Construction of the City Plaza complex — which was to become a four story, 55-unit apartment complex, with commercial and office space and an underground garage — began in early 2008, just before the Great Recession hit and money dried up.

Work at the site stopped in November of that year, according to the lawsuit. Since then the structure has only deteriorated and become a crime magnet.

Police have been called to the property on 75 separate occasions since the beginning of 2013, according to the suit.

“We’ve encouraged the neighbors to call us whenever anybody goes on property and when they do, we respond,” Police Chief Craig Carter said Wednesday. “There are people who go in there to steal parts of the structure and scaffolding. There are people in there just to graffiti. There are people who are doing other illegal activities.”

“The city has been patient with the various property owners, suppliers, banks and other entities,” Escondido City Attorney Jeff Epp said this week. “However, the property has become a blight to that area of town and more importantly, presents some serious safety concerns.”

Epp said as soon as the property owners respond to the lawsuit, the city will ask for a quick hearing date for issuance of a preliminary injunction. The goal of the suit is to get the property cleaned up and rendered safe.

Just who is responsible for the property is a point of contention. The lawsuit says ownership of the site has already been the subject of several legal proceedings.

In April 2013, a city code enforcement officer sent an order to abate a public nuisance to several of the parties, the lawsuit states. Last week inspectors confirmed the violations had still not been corrected.

“One inspector described the property as an accident waiting to happen,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuits claims that fencing surrounding the property blocks public access to sidewalks, yet does not prevent transients and trespassers from getting inside.

“The property provides hiding places and shelter for transients and others interested in criminal activities,” states the lawsuit, filed June 6 in Vista Superior Court. “The property has been used for defecation, urination, camp fires, and illegal lodging.”